11 Jan 2011 | Start: 0800, finish 1600 | Eng hrs: 1835.8 – 1844.0 | Avg RPM: 2,500 | Conditions: Flat, glassy seas, minimal wind from strange angles, heavy clouds on the horizon
Uneventful departure from Port Blair. Seized the rigging with stainless steel wire, and added a jerry can of diesel before hoisting the dinghy and raising anchor. Bizarrely calm conditions, forced to motor all the way to the west side of Long Island. Engine sound seems better, but vibrations may have increased, especially standing near the mast. May also be simple paranoia. We found a line of black soot on the transom (where it sits partially submerged when we are motoring, but fully out of the water when sailing). Short, mild squall just as we passed between Long Island and Guitar Island. Guitar Island is covered in amazing original growth rainforest – incredibly tall trees everywhere. After the rain, a rainbow arched over Long Island, with both ends clearly visible. Anchored in 6.5m in the lee of Long Island, glassy flat anchorage.